


Ho Ho Penguin

by Riddlebird-puff (hobbitpuff)



Series: Gobblepot Winter 2018 [1]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Baby Batgirl, Christmas Fluff, Future Fic, Harvey Bullock (phone), M/M, Secret Relationship, santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 01:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16903245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbitpuff/pseuds/Riddlebird-puff
Summary: When Harvey has to back out due to an incoming blizzard Jim gets Oswald to agree to dress like Santa for Barbara (Jr).Written for Gobblepot Winter 2018Santa Claus or BlizzardAuthor is bad at titles.





	Ho Ho Penguin

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually quite similar to a fic I wrote for another fandom. But different enough I hope.
> 
> This fic assumes Baby Barbara's parents are Jim and Barbara and assumes Barbara Kean does not survive the finale.
> 
> The "T" rating is for suggested sexual content only.

James kissed his daughter's head and tucked her into her bed for the night.

“Will Santa really come, Daddy?” Barbara asked him for what must have been the tenth time that night. She was four now, old for her age, but still very young. And it was her first Christmas where she seemed to understand the concept of Santa Claus.

“Yes, I promised you, didn't I?” he ruffled her hair, dark blonde like his. “And I never break a promise.”

“What if… the Batman catches him?” she blinked up at him, with eyes so much like her mother's they were almost painful.

“The Batman… helps Santa, he will keep the streets of Gotham safe tonight so Santa can deliver the presents to all the good children of Gotham.” Jim figured the Batman would allow him the small lie.

“Daddy… will, will, Santa won't come into my bedroom, will he?” she bit her lip like she did when she was trying not to cry.

“No, no, of course not,” he promised. “Just be a good girl and stay in bed and Santa will leave you gifts under the tree.”

“I can be good, I'll stay hidden. He won't find me.” Barbara looked so damn brave Jim thought she had never looked more like her mother, and namesake.

“You don't have to hide, Santa isn't a bad guy,” he reassured her.

“But he breaks into homes and leaves toys,” she started crying. “And you said, you said, never, ever, accept gifts from strangers. Santa is a bad man, Daddy.”

Jim struggled not to laugh. “Santa is not breaking any laws, sweetheart. He's like the postperson. He even has a permit and everything. His reindeer have been vaccinated and registered. And the department has searched his bags for any suspicious items, everything was cleared.”

“Then you know what he's bringing me?” she cheered up.

“I do,” he nodded. “But I promised not to tell you. And you know I never break my promise.” He tickled her and kissed her nose. “Now close your eyes and when you wake you'll see for yourself.”

“Daddy… I love you,” she hugged him.

“I love you too, always,” he felt himself start to tear up. He knew he didn't deserve this girl but he was going to try to be the father she deserved.

He tucked her back into the bed and turned off the light. He closed the door, leaving it a little open. And headed back to the living room to prepare for “Santa” where he found a Penguin instead.

“Penguin.. how did you get in?” Jim had changed the locks since the last time. He checked the door, it looked intact. “You could just knock on the door, you know.”

Oswald sat in _his_ chair with his feet over the arm eating the sugar cookies Barbara had left out for Santa. “Would you invite me in, Jim?” he pointed a half eaten cookie at him.

“Maybe I should just give you a key,” Jim sighed. It was Christmas Eve he didn't have time for Cobblepot tonight, not with Barbara asleep in the next room and Harvey on his way.  

“Why James, I didn't realize you were ready to take the next step in our relationship,” he brushed cookie crumbs off his coat.

“We do _not_ have a relationship, Penguin,” he hissed so not to wake his daughter. They had an _agreement,_ an mutual agreement that sometimes led to sexual _benefits_ , nothing more. “I told you not to come here anymore.” Barbara was old enough now to see, or hear, something she shouldn't. He couldn't take the risk. “What are you doing here?”

“Right to business then,” he put the plate of cookies down on the stand and got to his feet. “I came to see why my gift was refused.” He took a piece of paper from his pocket. “Surely, there has been a mistake, I have come to hand deliver it myself so there is no misunderstanding.”

“There is no mistake,” Jim folded his arms across his chest. “I know you have officers on your payroll and there's nothing I can do about it. But I won't let you buy me off too, Penguin.”

It was easier this way, to think of the man in front of him as the Penguin, the kingpin of Gotham, instead of Oswald the only man he was quite certain he could fall in love with if things had been different. But that was the problem, wasn't it, Penguin and Oswald were one and the same. And maybe if it hadn't been for the little girl in the other room he could have found a way to love both of them.

He didn't know where such thinking had come from, Christmas had a way of making him melancholy.

“This is for the orphanage, Jim. Think of the children who need this money more than your stubbornness. Do not be selfish.”

“The orphanage does not need your dirty money, Penguin.”

“All money is dirty, Gordon,” he laughed. “But if you're asking if it's legitimate, it is. I am an _honest_ businessman after all.”

“There is nothing hon-,” his cellphone interrupted him. He flipped it open and answered. “Gordon.”

“Hey Jimbo, have you heard the bulletin? The blizzard has cut off all traffic. I'm afraid Santa won't be able to make it. Sorry Jimbo, you know I would do anything for that little girl of yours but-.”

“No, don't even think about it. Your safety is more important. Be safe out there.”

“Merry Christmas to you, Harvey,” Oswald leaned towards the phone with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“You have Cobblepot with you? Geez, Jim, I didn't know you were spending holidays together now, guess it's getting serious, huh? Are you two thinking a summer wedding?” Harvey laughed.

“Goodbye, Harvey,” Jim glared at Oswald.

“Hey, don't be like that. At least I know you won't freeze to death in the night, though are penguins warm blooded or cold-.” Jim hung up before he could finish.

So- Harvey knew. Jim thought he had kept his _thing_ with Oswald on the down low, but if Harvey had figured it out who else knew?

“I'm guessing your good partner has left you without a Santa Claus,” Oswald pulled out the Santa suit Jim had left out for Harvey. “I could do it, I wouldn't even need padding in the stomach.” Oswald had grown a little soft in the belly it was true.

“I suppose you would want something in return?” Jim accused.

“Not at all,” he smiled. “It's what you can do for those poor orphans.”

Jim closed his eyes. He should say no. He should show Oswald out and change the locks, again. He should tell his daughter that there was no such thing as Santa in Gotham, only a man dressed as a giant bat who fought a killer clown. And that was it, she deserved some happiness, even here in a city like Gotham.

It was _only_ money. Money the orphanage desperately needed.

“You have a deal,” he agreed.

“I knew you would come to see reason, _Jimbo.”_ Oswald started to put the costume on over his impeccable suit. The costume had been rented with Harvey in mind, so it was much too big on him despite his comment about gaining weight. He looked ridiculous.. ridiculous and.. cute.

Jim put the Santa hat on top of his head, there was no fake beard because Harvey had not needed one. “I always thought Santa would be taller, bigger,” he teased.

“How do you think he fits through the chimney?” Oswald smirked.

“This is Gotham, not many chimneys,” he straightened Oswald’s coat. “He uses the fire escape.”

“Isn't that against safety regulations, Captain?” Oswald tsked. “I shouldnt have to remind you that breaking and entering is against the law.”

“That's why we left the window open,” Jim nodded to the window that was cracked open. “So I could let Santa in when he arrived.”

“You thought of everything, Jim,” he said. “Why though? You don't seem the type to lie about a mystical fat red man who leaves presents for good children. If Santa were real you would have him arrested and locked up in Arkham.”

“I suppose I would,” he chuckled. “I know it's silly.. but I just want to give Barbara a _normal_ childhood, I'm trying to be a _good_ father.” And part of being a good father was not inviting the _infamous_ mob boss known as the Penguin into their home. “And not doing a very good job of it, it would seem.”

“James, you might not be a good _man,_ you might not be a good _cop,_ but are a good _father,”_ Oswald leaned close. “Barbara Jr is lucky to have you.”

Jim shook his head, and sometimes Oswald could surprise him. “I can't decide if that was the nicest thing you've ever said to me or if I should be insulted.”

“You're also _good_ in bed, Captain,” Oswald winked badly, Jim laughed. The Penguin might have a silver tongue in business but it was still very green when it came to dirty talk, and he found it charming.

“Well, you know the first thing they teach you in the armed forces is how to discharge your heavy artillery,” he bantered back. He was proud to note the blush spreading across Oswald’s face and neck, and chest he knew.

“That was… _horrible,_ even for you, James,” he rolled his eyes. “So, what was the plan? I'm not expected to do the whole,” he waved his hands, “mall Santa thing, am I?”

“No,” Jim struggled not to smile at the image. “Harvey would just say Ho Ho Ho and Barbara would wake and open the door to peek out and catch sight of Santa.” He felt foolish speaking it out aloud, Harvey had made it sound logical.

“Can you be certain she won't come out?”

“She won't, I made her swear not to leave her bedroom tonight, and I told her she would get nothing from Santa if she broke her promise,” he explained. “But her curiosity will get the better of her and she will take a peek.”

“You're already teaching her to bend the rules, Jim. How _naughty_ of you,” he tsked. “I don't know if I should be proud of you, or afraid that there's going to be two of you.”

“You agreed to do this, Oswald,” he reminded him. “Just place the gift under the tree, best to keep your back to the hall. We don't have a beard for you. And crawl out the fire escape and wait until I come to get you when the coast is clear.”

“You expect me to wait out there in a blizzard until you let me back in?”

“I'll get you as soon as Barbara closes her door again, it won't be long.”

“Like how you _came_ for me when you _left_ me _up_ on that _blimp?_ No. No way.”

“I.. I'll think of something else,” Jim conceded. It _probably_ wasn't a good idea to send Oswald out on the fire escape in a blizzard. “Just stick to the plan and keep your back turned. Go on, say ho, ho, ho.”

“Ho.. Ho.. Ho,” Oswald called out with a frown. Jim laughed. “What?” Oswald demanded angry.

“You sounded like a penguin slipping in the ice, Oswald.” He heard the bedroom door click open and quickly handed Oswald the wrapped gift and backed out of sight. He watched Oswald place the gift under the tree. “Barbara?” Jim called out. The door slammed shut, as he knew it would.

“Well, that's that, I guess,” Oswald straightened up and turned around. “I should leave before the storm worsens.”

“Did you bring a driver?” 

“Of course not,” Oswald answered. “I took a taxi.”

“I can't let you go out in a blizzard, Oswald,” he sighed. “You'll stay here tonight, until the roads clear.”

“What will you tell your daughter, Jim?”

“I'll tell her you're a business associate that got caught in the storm and came in for a place to stay,” he shrugged. “She's four, Oswald. She'll be more interested in Christmas to ask too many questions. And it's the truth, in a sense.”

“I will stay the night but I will leave first thing in the morning before Barbara wakes,” Oswald agreed. “Blizzard or no blizzard. I will buy a snow plow if need be.”

Jim had never asked Oswald the reason why he avoided meeting his daughter, he obviously couldn't introduce the gangster as his _lover,_ or perhaps Oswald just did not care for children.

“Harvey was right, it promises to be a cold night,” Jim grabbed Oswald’s hands. “It would be best to share body warmth.”

He eagerly kissed Oswald. He had to put a stop to this. Now that Harvey suspected it was too dangerous. He wasn't being a good _father_ putting his daughter at risk like this. He had _promised_ Barbara to take care of her daughter. It wasn't just _him_ anymore, it was _them._

But tonight he just wanted Oswald, _needed_ to be in Oswald’s arms.

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> My Gobblepot always turns out angsty/fluff or is it fluffy/angst. I love these two. I really do. Promise. Jim is just way too much fun to write like this.
> 
> I am hoping to write more for the Gobblepot Winter Challenge and if I do this fic is likely to be continued (Oswald needs to meet Baby Babs after all!)
> 
> If you want leave a comment.  
> Thank you for reading!


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